Tipton, Hamby sentenced; porn case shocks judge

Published: Thursday, September 19, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 12:44 p.m.

ASHEVILLE — In a case of child pornography that even shocked a seasoned judge, two former educators were sentenced to prison after their affair led to the sexual exploitation of a minor entrusted to their care.

Chadwick Hamby, 42, former principal of a charter school in Hendersonville, was sentenced Wednesday to four years and three months in prison for receiving child pornography. Deborah Lee Tipton, 45, of Burt, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for transmitting and possessing child pornography.

Hamby was given a “substantial reduction” in his sentence for assisting law enforcement and testifying against Tipton, a former special education teacher who sent him two sexually explicit videos of an 11-year-old girl after their seven-year affair had started to fizzle.

“This was a man in a position of trust. Parents trusted him with their children,” Cortney Escaravage, lead prosecutor for the U.S. government, said of Hamby Wednesday in Asheville's U.S. District Court.

Although he was very cooperative in the case, she said, the government recommended at least 51 months of incarceration due to the grave nature of his crime.

Escaravage said the case started years ago when an extramarital affair between Hamby and Tipton moved into the cyber realm, where chatroom fantasies took on darker tones of bestiality, violent rape and child pornography.

A special agent with the FBI, who testified Wednesday, said Tipton introduced the victim into their chats and one day, Hamby received a text message from Tipton saying she had a surprise for him. Along with the transmission of the videos, which depicted the minor in a shower, Tipton wrote “enjoy,” according to the prosecutor. Tipton pleaded guilty to taking and sending the 2-minute and 6-minute videos, in which she coaxed the girl to expose her genitals.

The agent said Hamby left Mountain Community School in May 2011 and his relationship with Tipton had fizzled considerably until about August or September of that year, when the videos were sent.

In an effort to “excite him,” Escaravage said, Tipton created pornographic videos of the girl, who was one of Hamby's former students and was a month shy of her 12th birthday on Sept. 10, 2011. The video was sent to Hamby via the Internet.

Court records show that Hamby admitted to viewing the videos at least once before deleting them, according to a news release from the courts.

The child is undergoing therapy, Escaravage said.

In August 2012, Hamby pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. A month later, Tipton, who was a teacher at Mountain Community, pleaded guilty to one count of possession and one count of transportation of child pornography.

District Judge Martin Reidinger said Hamby's sentence was “serious” because of the damage his crime caused. “This is the sort of damage that lasts a lifetime,” he added.

The judge told Hamby there was a “certain degree of manipulation” on his part. This case is “even more serious in light of the fact that the defendant was the principal of a school where the victim attended,” he said.

“You've wiped out your life,” Reidinger said, adding that Hamby has a chance to start over, but warned him to never return to court. “You got a substantial break this time. You won't get another one.”

Hamby apologized to his family and supporters for what he's put them through.

“I'm a lot happier now being caught than I was,” he told the court. “I will be forever sorry.”

Tipton

Wearing an orange-and-white-striped jumpsuit, Tipton's shackles jingled as she entered the courtroom around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. She stood as still as stone before the judge as he addressed the “severity” of her crime.

Escaravage read graphic transcripts of the videos and said Tipton used the victim to entice Hamby back to the relationship.

“All she cared about was satisfying her and her lover's sexual needs,” she said. “She knew what she was doing, and she did this on purpose.”

In a motion before the court, her attorney, Jack Stewart Jr., said his client has shown remorse for her actions, and thought the video was deleted. She suspects her ex-husband may have hacked into her computer to find it, he said.

Responding to the motion, Escaravage said Tipton denied knowledge of the crime, intent of the offense and even the content of the videos, and she's “now saying she thought she deleted the video.” By saying things like “she accidentally sent it,” she said, Tipton is “not accepting her responsibility.”

Although Tipton pleaded guilty, Reidinger said she does not seem to have come to grips with the criminality of her actions.

After a “multitude of objections” to a pre-sentencing report and a flurry of motions from her lawyer, which remained overruled, Tipton addressed the court.

“I've lost everything,” she said, adding that she didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to her children when she was arrested. “I can only imagine what they're going through. I hope they can forgive me for what I've done.”

She said she hopes to become a better person and help others in her new life. “I can't take anything back. I can just learn from my mistakes and move on,” she said.

Before her sentence was handed down, Stewart said, “I'm not here to tell you my client is a saint,” but she has “led a good life” outside of this act and has a “very low risk” of reoffending.

He said her abhorrent behavior is a “departure from a life of being a law-abiding citizen.”

For transmitting child pornography, Tipton was sentenced to 216 months in prison. For a charge of possessing child pornography, she was sentenced to 120 months in prison. The sentences are set to run concurrently, meaning Tipton will be eligible for release in 18 years.

As a judge, “you think you've seen everything,” Reidinger said. “But I have to say this has been a new one for me... I didn't think I'd ever see a case like this.”

Hamby has been in federal custody in the Western District since August 2012. Tipton has been in custody since April 2012. Each defendant will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

Both Hamby and Tipton will be under supervised release for the remainder of their lives after release from prison. Hamby was ordered to register as a sex offender for a period of 15 years. Tipton was ordered to register as a sex offender for 25 years.

The two will be allowed to participate in educational, vocational, mental health and sex offender treatment programs while in custody and will have to undergo risk assessments and psycho-sexual evaluations.

After their release, both are required to stay away from all materials of child pornography and have no contact with children under the age of 18. Their employment and place of residence must be approved by a probation officer and their conviction must not be withheld from any future employer.

The two are forbidden to possess or use any computer or electrical device with access to the Internet without the consent of their probation officers. Reidinger said those devices will be subject to warrantless searches and seizures. Neither will be allowed to have any type of social networking account.

<p>ASHEVILLE — In a case of child pornography that even shocked a seasoned judge, two former educators were sentenced to prison after their affair led to the sexual exploitation of a minor entrusted to their care. </p><p>Chadwick Hamby, 42, former principal of a charter school in Hendersonville, was sentenced Wednesday to four years and three months in prison for receiving child pornography. Deborah Lee Tipton, 45, of Burt, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for transmitting and possessing child pornography.</p><p>Hamby was given a “substantial reduction” in his sentence for assisting law enforcement and testifying against Tipton, a former special education teacher who sent him two sexually explicit videos of an 11-year-old girl after their seven-year affair had started to fizzle. </p><p>“This was a man in a position of trust. Parents trusted him with their children,” Cortney Escaravage, lead prosecutor for the U.S. government, said of Hamby Wednesday in Asheville's U.S. District Court.</p><p>Although he was very cooperative in the case, she said, the government recommended at least 51 months of incarceration due to the grave nature of his crime.</p><p>Escaravage said the case started years ago when an extramarital affair between Hamby and Tipton moved into the cyber realm, where chatroom fantasies took on darker tones of bestiality, violent rape and child pornography.</p><p>A special agent with the FBI, who testified Wednesday, said Tipton introduced the victim into their chats and one day, Hamby received a text message from Tipton saying she had a surprise for him. Along with the transmission of the videos, which depicted the minor in a shower, Tipton wrote “enjoy,” according to the prosecutor. Tipton pleaded guilty to taking and sending the 2-minute and 6-minute videos, in which she coaxed the girl to expose her genitals. </p><p>The agent said Hamby left Mountain Community School in May 2011 and his relationship with Tipton had fizzled considerably until about August or September of that year, when the videos were sent. </p><p>In an effort to “excite him,” Escaravage said, Tipton created pornographic videos of the girl, who was one of Hamby's former students and was a month shy of her 12th birthday on Sept. 10, 2011. The video was sent to Hamby via the Internet.</p><p>Court records show that Hamby admitted to viewing the videos at least once before deleting them, according to a news release from the courts.</p><p>The child is undergoing therapy, Escaravage said.</p><p>In August 2012, Hamby pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. A month later, Tipton, who was a teacher at Mountain Community, pleaded guilty to one count of possession and one count of transportation of child pornography.</p><p>District Judge Martin Reidinger said Hamby's sentence was “serious” because of the damage his crime caused. “This is the sort of damage that lasts a lifetime,” he added. </p><p>The judge told Hamby there was a “certain degree of manipulation” on his part. This case is “even more serious in light of the fact that the defendant was the principal of a school where the victim attended,” he said.</p><p>“You've wiped out your life,” Reidinger said, adding that Hamby has a chance to start over, but warned him to never return to court. “You got a substantial break this time. You won't get another one.”</p><p>Hamby apologized to his family and supporters for what he's put them through. </p><p>“I'm a lot happier now being caught than I was,” he told the court. “I will be forever sorry.”</p><p><b>Tipton</b></p><p>Wearing an orange-and-white-striped jumpsuit, Tipton's shackles jingled as she entered the courtroom around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. She stood as still as stone before the judge as he addressed the “severity” of her crime.</p><p>Escaravage read graphic transcripts of the videos and said Tipton used the victim to entice Hamby back to the relationship.</p><p>“All she cared about was satisfying her and her lover's sexual needs,” she said. “She knew what she was doing, and she did this on purpose.”</p><p>In a motion before the court, her attorney, Jack Stewart Jr., said his client has shown remorse for her actions, and thought the video was deleted. She suspects her ex-husband may have hacked into her computer to find it, he said.</p><p>Responding to the motion, Escaravage said Tipton denied knowledge of the crime, intent of the offense and even the content of the videos, and she's “now saying she thought she deleted the video.” By saying things like “she accidentally sent it,” she said, Tipton is “not accepting her responsibility.”</p><p>Although Tipton pleaded guilty, Reidinger said she does not seem to have come to grips with the criminality of her actions.</p><p>After a “multitude of objections” to a pre-sentencing report and a flurry of motions from her lawyer, which remained overruled, Tipton addressed the court.</p><p>“I've lost everything,” she said, adding that she didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to her children when she was arrested. “I can only imagine what they're going through. I hope they can forgive me for what I've done.”</p><p>She said she hopes to become a better person and help others in her new life. “I can't take anything back. I can just learn from my mistakes and move on,” she said.</p><p>Before her sentence was handed down, Stewart said, “I'm not here to tell you my client is a saint,” but she has “led a good life” outside of this act and has a “very low risk” of reoffending.</p><p>He said her abhorrent behavior is a “departure from a life of being a law-abiding citizen.”</p><p>For transmitting child pornography, Tipton was sentenced to 216 months in prison. For a charge of possessing child pornography, she was sentenced to 120 months in prison. The sentences are set to run concurrently, meaning Tipton will be eligible for release in 18 years.</p><p>As a judge, “you think you've seen everything,” Reidinger said. “But I have to say this has been a new one for me... I didn't think I'd ever see a case like this.”</p><p>Hamby has been in federal custody in the Western District since August 2012. Tipton has been in custody since April 2012. Each defendant will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.</p><p>Both Hamby and Tipton will be under supervised release for the remainder of their lives after release from prison. Hamby was ordered to register as a sex offender for a period of 15 years. Tipton was ordered to register as a sex offender for 25 years.</p><p>The two will be allowed to participate in educational, vocational, mental health and sex offender treatment programs while in custody and will have to undergo risk assessments and psycho-sexual evaluations.</p><p>After their release, both are required to stay away from all materials of child pornography and have no contact with children under the age of 18. Their employment and place of residence must be approved by a probation officer and their conviction must not be withheld from any future employer.</p><p>The two are forbidden to possess or use any computer or electrical device with access to the Internet without the consent of their probation officers. Reidinger said those devices will be subject to warrantless searches and seizures. Neither will be allowed to have any type of social networking account.</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>